Belfast: The New Prague

Energetic crowds fill the streets of the capital’s chic downtown, occasionally popping in and out of its bustling stores and specialty shops. Restaurants are packed with diners who wander in, following the tantalizing smell of Irish stew and sausages. Now and then Celtic music wafts out of some of the pubs, where people are just beginning to gather for a night out on the town.

No, this isn’t Dublin. It’s Belfast.

One of Europe’s grandest cities at the turn of the last century, Belfast’s star slowly dimmed as its core industries of shipbuilding, rope-making and linen production became obsolete. It went out completely during The Troubles, a 30-year stretch of violent clashes between the city’s Protestant and Catholic residents. During this timeframe–roughly 1969 until 1998–tourism in Belfast was nonexistent. But once the warring factions made peace, the city quickly began to repair itself. Today, it’s the site of Europe’s biggest building boom with a dizzying array of new hotels, restaurants, bars and commercial enterprises being constructed.

“Belfast is now one of the top six shopping destinations in the U.K. and Ireland,” says local tour guide Ken McElroy. “And there are nine open-top tour buses running downtown. Not too long ago, there were none.”

So what’s there to do in Belfast? Plenty. One of its most popular tourist attractions is a “black cab” tour through Shankill and Falls Roads, where the worst violence occurred during The Troubles. The neighborhood is filled with hundreds of brightly painted murals crafted during The Troubles by the Loyalists (Protestants) and Nationalists (Catholics).

Largely political, they can be menacing, such as the Loyalist mural depicting a black-hooded figure that appears to be aiming an Uzi straight at you, no matter which angle you approach it. (It’s been dubbed the Mona Lisa.) Others commemorate fallen terrorist “heroes,” or plead the Nationalist or Loyalist case. These murals are slowly being replaced by depictions of cultural heroes, such as Northern Ireland’s beloved soccer player George Best.

On a lighter note, the compact downtown features attractions like City Hall, a striking Classic Renaissance stone building in Donegall Square, which also contains the town’s version of the London Eye–the 200-foot-tall Belfast Wheel, which offers panoramic views of the city.

You can get a similar view through the massive glass dome atop Victoria Square, a new commercial/residential development; the dome is already an iconic image. Across the Lagan River is the Titanic Quarter; the infamous ship was built here nearly 100 years ago. You can stroll around the immense Thompson Dry Dock that once cradled the ship, affording you a sense of its size.

Before you head out of town, stop in a pub for a pint of Guinness or an Irish coffee, made with Bushmill’s whiskey and thick Irish cream.

It doesn’t get any better.

–Melanie Radzicki McManus, Red Editorial Staff